Monday, July 31, 2006

There’s nothing quite like a bowl of oatmeal in the morning. I’m not talking about the oatmeal that comes in a pouch and heated in the office microwave with water from the water cooler. I’m talking about the oatmeal which is stirred over a flame, ladled into your favorite bowl and then topped with a pat of butter and a drizzle of honey. Or maybe you like your oatmeal with some fruit (dried or fresh) and nuts too. Either way, oatmeal is a great way to start your day. Just like this cake. As strange as this might sound, this cake tastes just like a bowl of oatmeal. There’s a hint of brown sugar and cinnamon and buttermilk adds a pleasant tang. I used dried cherries and almonds, but any dried fruit or nuts would work as well.

Mary you are fast becoming one of my greatest sources of inspiration. All your creations are beautiful, this one included. I have never mixed oatmeal into a cake, why, I don't know because it looks delicious!

I recently stumbled upon your blog. WOW, it is just beautiful. I am a personal chef and I'm always looking for treats to leave for my clients. I've prepared your cake numerous times but haven't had the pleasure of trying it myself. It always smells delicoius, though!

Quick question: I always feel like I'm adding a lot of salt since there are 2cups of buttermilk (a good bit of sodium) - do you ever find that it's too much? I suppose it's a good sized cake so maybe not - I was just curious.

Anonymous - Using 1 teaspoon salt, I haven't noticed that there's too much salt in the cake. But if you are concerned about sodium content, I've also made the cake with as little as 1/4 teaspoon salt and it turned out fine.

The alpine strawberry (Fragaria vesca) is a cousin of the wild strawberry. It's sometimes simply referred to as alpineberry. I love to bake, cook and garden. My blog is a place to share my recipes and other tiny tidbits of my life.